I came , I was seen ,

[MsPeaches]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...



Wow, Sis evanovitch!!

You made my day!!!

Seeing all your wonderful photos has made me feel soooooooo mellow after a stressful day. Thanks so much for sharing them with us and also for the wonderful writing that we know you for.
You have taken me right back to my beloved Jamaica and I feel incredibly grateful!
The colours, I see, are just as stunning as ever. I only hope that the rest you had yielded benefits to your painful joints and that they will last for as long as possible.
And I envy you so much for planning to go back so soon - but then, as you say, those prices can hardly be passed up!

So as long as you keep us entertained I will satisfy myself and be happy!
BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! THANKS!

[kia027]

Re: bigger picture of the thatch from di inside

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> </div></div>

Your pics are sooo relaxing.. That looks like a place I could stay for a good while to decompress. Lovely photos

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MsPeaches</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Wow, Sis evanovitch!!

You made my day!!!

Seeing all your wonderful photos has made me feel soooooooo mellow after a stressful day. Thanks so much for sharing them with us and also for the wonderful writing that we know you for.
You have taken me right back to my beloved Jamaica and I feel incredibly grateful!
The colours, I see, are just as stunning as ever. I only hope that the rest you had yielded benefits to your painful joints and that they will last for as long as possible.
And I envy you so much for planning to go back so soon - but then, as you say, those prices can hardly be passed up!

So as long as you keep us entertained I will satisfy myself and be happy!
BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! THANKS!




</div></div>

Jamaica is beautiful wen seen behing the lens of a camera...the reality is something else really....afta all the camera seeks out the scenes that make a one go ooh n ahh

having always travelled across Ja from day one wen living there, i see the breakdown of what r laughably called towns etc..we stymied our natural evolution for a few industries n have been left holding di proverbial empty pot

i cannot believe the decline of Ochie...wat was once a vibrant place is now soooo stagnant...

i laffed wen the vehicle tekking me to Ochie dropped off some peeps at Dunns River..dang...who can memba di days wen u drive up pon di road side n climb down to go to the beach an di Falls..now everyting is concrete n parking etc n not one vehicle in dem lots...

Ja still prices things as if it is the tourism before n immediately after Independence , wen people who visited had to have money to a certain extent..before the days of cheap charters etc...dem nickle n dime these tourists n i fi one would not pay to go if i was one of dem tourists deh...fi real...dem charge prices, some prices wich r more laughable dan anyting else.....

[evanovitch]

Re: bigger picture of the thatch from di inside

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kia</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> </div></div>

Your pics are sooo relaxing.. That looks like a place I could stay for a good while to decompress. Lovely photos </div></div>

the place is really relaxing....the majority guests were British, German n Latin Americans....curiously i ran into a friend who was down from Kingston for the weekend with their 'friend'...dont know who was more surprised at the coincidence of being in the same place....

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Seveen</div><div class="ubbcode-body">nice!

the airport shopping sucks me in too . . . </div></div>

the one good thing is that u can haggle wid di owners in di Duty Free...dem use to it weh dem come from so u can haggle ovah di price of di jewellery...i always do dat cause mi sure dem jack di prices up in the first place

i was remembered from the trip couple weeks bak so this time it was easier...

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...



finally found one

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...



lovely tie-dye swing sundress...however, it was made in Sri Lanka...but i bought it in Ochie

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...



the sundress along with a scarf i found elsewhere...i got one of the dresses in the Flag,n also a scarf to match...

[evanovitch]

Jamaicans are soooo innovative..u haffi gi dem

props...u know how u have KFC...well i watched on guy who does chicken neck etc in a similar style for those who live in the poorer areas...him do popcorn neck etc...

and he does good business indeed...it is a treat to really go into areas u hear about r read about n see how they make do...u feel bad on one level but u feel dat as a nation we must rise above our circumstances, eventually the ability of our people to mek a way outta no way...fi real

[evanovitch]

Re: the things that mek it worthwhile

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Seveen</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so you can work for butch or issa or one of those farrin hotels - after that you're out of chances if you have <span style="font-weight: bold">any</span> problem at work </div></div>

actually it would seem that the big hotels use the HEART system as a way to keep cheap labour...they give them 'experience' right out of training, so dem get dem cheap...every six months they can turn over....the racket dat goes on is telling indeed....

some of the conversations i had, i am sure people exaggerated, BUT NOT BY MUCH...people tired of being tired....

simple faith mek people carry on an be pleasant as much as they can be,,,but everyday wid di said ting is wearing...wearing indeed </div></div>


'Brownings, please'

Several local businesses asking state-owned employment agency for light-skinned trainees

Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter





A hundred and seventy-seven years after slavery was abolished in the British West Indies, Jamaica's national training agency - HEART Trust - still has to deal with colour-prejudiced employers who are requesting that trainees be brown or light-skinned as a prerequisite for employment in their firms.

A highly placed source at HEART Trust told our news team that on the one hand, some employers note the discriminatory requests on forms provided by HEART Trust under a section that asks them to list specifications that the prospective trainee should meet.

On the one hand, some employers spew out their bigoted requirement to the face of the HEART Trust's training agents or training support officers. &quot;Some are brazen enough,&quot; the source said.

&quot;We have had certain firms that have required persons of a certain complexion,&quot; said the well-placed informant, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.

&quot;I was very blown by the request,&quot; said a HEART Trust employee who personally have dealt with clients making such requests. &quot;We try our best not to (accommodate the discrimination) … sometimes we try to ignore the request,&quot; the employee added.

Our news team understands that in a bid to discourage the discrimination, HEART Trust often drop entities that make such requests, from the list of establishments trainees are sent to for job experience.

The colour-specific requests come from proprietors, personnel managers or the administrative staff who are asked to handle the process of securing trainees for the organisation.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Gleaner source pointed out that the prejudice usually surfaces when employers are seeking trainees to fill &quot;front counter staff&quot; positions as those persons are deemed to be the face of the organisation.

Noted psychologist Dr Leahcim Semaj, who is also CEO of the Job Bank - an entity that screens and assesses prospective employees for its corporate clients - said the skin-tone discrimination is still clear and present but has largely retreated underground.

&quot;It is usually not articulated. I have heard of it. Years ago it was more specific for front-line positions such as receptionists and those dealing specifically with clients.

&quot;There was a time in Jamaica that it (being of a light complexion) was one of the criteria to work in a bank,&quot; said Semaj.

He added: &quot;It still is (a problem). You can't blatantly come out and say it (because) Jamaica is still a black country (therefore) it is not something they can come out and say but they will find subtle ways.&quot;

The psychologist explained that many people in Jamaica are still of the opinion that persons with lighter complexion are more attractive.

[email protected]

[evanovitch]

Ochi abandonned



'Ochi' abandoned - Business leaders want back resort board
Published: Tuesday | September 13, 20110 Comments



Business leaders in the resort town of Ocho Rios, St Ann, are bemoaning the leadership malaise in that area, and they claim that the parish council is not in charge.

The issue came to light during a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios yesterday, during which it was claimed that responsibility for drain maintenance and other issues normally dealt with by the island's parish councils have been spurned by the St Ann body.

Against the background of the alleged lack of leadership, Vana Taylor, area chair of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), called for the re-establishment of the Ocho Rios Resort Board.

&quot;We had an effective resort board,&quot; she said, noting that the Government discontinued it some time ago and, although Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett assured it would be re-established, to date it has not.

Taylor was supported by Kumar Sujanani, president of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce, who said the resort board should be reinstated to take charge of the management of the town.

Cruise visitors on decline

Among the problems business leaders want urgently addressed is lingering tourism harassment, which has been blamed for a decline in cruise-passenger support for commerce in the town.

Ocho Rios relies on tourism for up to 90 per cent of business, but cruise-passenger arrivals have declined from a high of more than 800,000 in 2006. According to Sujanani, in 2011 the figure is not expected to reach even 400,000.

Describing Ocho Rios as dirty and dilapidated, the business leaders also cited squatting, most of which occurs on land owned by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) throughout the parish, as well as itinerant vending, as problems they believe an effective parish council could help to resolve.

However, Sue Morris, representing the National Cruise Council of Jamaica, told the forum that &quot;we have a parish council that chooses not to attend meetings&quot;, despite being invited by merchants and several other stakeholders in the town.

&quot;Nobody is in charge in Ocho Rios,&quot; declared Morris. &quot;Other than law enforcement, who is in charge?&quot;

Mayor of St Ann's Bay, Vinnette Robb-Oddman, who replaced Ivan Anderson when he resigned after being arrested on a fraud charge, has also been invited to meetings with the JHTA, merchants and other stakeholders to address the problematic issues. But, so far, she has not attended any.

Several efforts were made to get a response from Robb-Oddman, but she was not reached for comment up to press time as she was said to be attending meetings.

The lack of leadership apparently stems from the reality that much of the land in the parish is owned by the UDC, the business leaders say.

Shifting responsibilities

With the St Ann Parish Council determining that drain maintenance, for example, was not its responsibility, approaches have been made to the UDC, but it, too, said it was not responsible, Taylor said. She noted that that and other issues were affecting the parish in general, and were not confined to Ocho Rios.

Morris said that whoever took charge of the town needed to enforce laws such as the Prescribed Areas Act.

&quot;The business community is more than prepared to work with the leadership of Ocho Rios, once that leadership is established,&quot; Morris said.

[sistactry]

Re: Ochi abandonned

u fix de pics dem, good,

u kno say dem give u cigarettes at RD, wha me still call Club Caribbean, dem guys a de best, but after being there for 3-4days, u waan flash out, nice place dow, nice evening dining and ting, I always get the bungalow dats the last one on yr left...........look like u did deh far right???

luvvv the jewelry,

the pink and grey is very pretty

[Marielle]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
but i managed to get these in the airport ...




</div></div>

Beautiful! The silver and gold bangles too, India and African design...

But I wanted to comment on these.

Beautiful silver work with crystals....

First one: citrine, amber, and moonstone (or pearl, if the light is catching it...?).

Second one: Labradorite, amazing stone, rainbow in it, is a protection crystal.

Third one: Citrine? Or could it be Tiger's Eye? Or citrine with smokey quartz...hard to see in the light...(of the photo).

Love, love, love them!

[MsPeaches]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...



<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jamaica is beautiful wen seen behing the lens of a camera...the reality is something else really....afta all the camera seeks out the scenes that make a one go ooh n ahh

having always travelled across Ja from day one wen living there, i see the breakdown of what r laughably called towns etc..we stymied our natural evolution for a few industries n have been left holding di proverbial empty pot

i cannot believe the decline of Ochie...wat was once a vibrant place is now soooo stagnant...

i laffed wen the vehicle tekking me to Ochie dropped off some peeps at Dunns River..dang...who can memba di days wen u drive up pon di road side n climb down to go to the beach an di Falls..now everyting is concrete n parking etc n not one vehicle in dem lots. </div></div>

Sooooooo too bad to hear this about Ochi. The place was still quite nice last time I was there, but there was an air of deterioration about it already. But the back-passing among the ppl who should share collective responsibility for its welfare is pretty disgusting. What a shame they don't take more pride in their community!

[evanovitch]

Re: this is what i am thinking of...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Marielle</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
but i managed to get these in the airport ...




</div></div>

Beautiful! The silver and gold bangles too, India and African design...

But I wanted to comment on these.

Beautiful silver work with crystals....

First one: citrine, amber, and moonstone (or pearl, if the light is catching it...?).

Second one: Labradorite, amazing stone, rainbow in it, is a protection crystal.

Third one: Citrine? Or could it be Tiger's Eye? Or citrine with smokey quartz...hard to see in the light...(of the photo).

Love, love, love them! </div></div>

had no clue wat the stones meant...tonx for the info..just knew that of the selection, these called out to moi, philistine dat i am.... but i do love my jewellery...